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NORMAN — With 10:25 left in the fourth quarter Saturday, it seemed like OU’s offense couldn’t move the ball to save its life.
Leading just 24-19, the Sooners were again empty-handed following a false start penalty by offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu on third-and-7 and a drop from receiver Deion Burks on third-and-12. It seemed like every drive quarterback Jackson Arnold would make a mistake, the offensive line would miss a block and a receiver would drop a ball.
Frustrated, Arnold hung his head as he trudged to the sideline. OU’s first five drives of the second half resulted in a field goal, a pick-6 by Arnold and three punts.
The situation was all too familiar after last week’s embarrassing performance, which went down as the Sooners’ lowest point total against an unranked nonconference opponent since 2005.
“There was a lot of really good in this game,” Venables said. “(But), there were some things that were right on course for some of the things that have taken place this season.”
More: OU football grades vs Tulane: Uneven report card for Sooners in final SEC tune-up
Despite the offense’s inability to move the ball at times in the second half, it vastly improved early, gaining a 21-0 lead. Venables and offensive coordinator Seth Littrell walked away from Saturday’s 34-19 win over Tulane seeing improvement and with confidence, but also knowing the offense has to be better when No. 13 Tennessee pulls into town next week.
The Sooners finished with 349 total yards and won the time of possession battle by three minutes and 24 seconds.
“They played pretty clean throughout the first half,” Littrell said. “The next step is when we lose a little bit of momentum throughout some of these drives, we’ve gotta bounce back a little quicker. We got a little hesitant, and that’s something we’ll grow…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ou-football-getting-better-heres-104540964.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-09-15 10:45:40
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